The Things We Carry

Kelliher-Combs’ work is interesting in the context of Svalbard – a territory with no indigenous population, a place that has been internationally populated for centuries. The mining industry is coming to an end, and tourism and other economies are on the rise. Most inhabitants stay for only a few years. How does her work speak to a place where society is rapidly changing, and roots and traditions are complex, parallel and individual?

What are the rules of viability? What are the unspoken secrets? What are the things people carry? How do they define us?

Sonya Kelliher-Combs was born in Bethel, Alaska in 1969 and raised in the remote community of Nome in Northwest Alaska. Her cultural background includes Iñupiaq, Athabaskan, Irish and German, and she is now based in Anchorage, Alaska. She is represented in collections including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the British Royal Museum and Anchorage Museum. Her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Master of Fine Arts is from Arizona State University.